Wednesday, January 18, 2012

I would normally post articles of this nature on the sister site TIA 4 CHRIST, but in the light of the fact that this blog generates far more pageviews than the sister site, I’ve decided to rather post it here.

The wholesale persecution of Christians in the entire Middle East region, as well as several countries in Africa, mainly in the northern and central regions, have reached pandemic proportions. It has been going on for ages, and is thus not a new phenomenon.

The act of “persecution”, however, does not exclusively involve murder only. It can also involve various other non-lethal activities that are designed to annoy, maltreat, intimidate, and harass Christians – sometimes to the point where some Christians - like me for example – often get the urge to take flight to the serene safety of the Okavango, or to any other secluded and tranquil spot where the persecuting bullies are not present… not in large numbers anyway!

When “persecution” is perceived in the above context it should be obvious that this phenomenon is not restricted to conflict-zones such as, the Middle East or Africa only, but spans all regions where people of dissimilar cultures and religions share the same communal space, bearing in mind that “communal space” can also be an online social platform such as, Facebook, for example.

Now I am fully aware that we cannot hold all non-Christians accountable for the world’s persecuted people, for in this crazy mixed-up world we live in you’ll even find people, who profess to be “Christian”, persecuting (and killing) their own brothers and sisters. Of course, when this happens you’ll notice how quickly satan and his cronies utilize it to their full advantage, and how the msm blossom with the glory of it all in their headlines, much to the delight of the ever-growing number of free-thinking sheeple out there.

The erroneous impression that’s being created of course, is that this sort of thing happens all the time. In reality, it is nothing but a cunning distortion of the truth, as it is NOT in the universal nature of Christians to persecute and/or harm others, unless it becomes a matter of self-defence and/or self-preservation -- basic rights that are fast being removed by the satanic forces in control.

Be that as it may - the safest place to live is in a society where the majority respects and upholds Christian values. It is one of the main reasons why the Afrikaner/Boers want their independence. You’ll also find that where a minority group of non-Christian folk exist in such a society, they’ll either be drawn voluntarily into the Christian community, or (depending on geographic location and circumstances) they’ll be taken no notice of, while the doors of the local churches as well as the money-coffers, will always remain wide open for them.

Sure enough, not all Christians have fully come to terms with the guidance provided in Biblical scripture such as, Matthew 5:44, for example, which states: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” – counselling that I too have difficulty coping with, although I’m quite sure that there must be some-or-other inexplicable wisdom concealed therein, which will perhaps come to light on the day I’m lying on my deathbed.

Personally, I prefer the scripture that says:

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Ephesians 5:11 (NIV)

Incidentally, the identical verse in the KJV Bible says: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Reprove = “criticize”, “take to task”, or “rebuke”.

The bottom line is that the inclination to persecute others is not an inherent quality of a Christian, and neither is it an inherent quality of any individual who has been raised and nurtured by equivalent faith-doctrines, whether they hate their enemies, or not!

Any community (or individual) that purports to be “Christian”, but yet who persecutes others living in their society, is simply put - NOT CHRISTIAN! (Non-Christians reading this are welcome to replace the word “Christian” with the phrase: “a human-rights campaigner”, or “a caring person”, or whatever other alternative phrase suits them.)

Likewise - any organization, whether it may be a national political party, a local group of humanitarians , or that ‘esteemed’ gang of independent international leaders who call themselves “The Global Elite”, CANNOT BE CHRISTIAN if they ignore the plight of severely persecuted Christians, and/or remain eerily silent on matters related to the appalling state of affairs in the Middle East, and other places where radical murderous elements are ruling the roost.

I was thus pleasantly surprised to see that Rhoda Kadalie has recently published an article, in which she names-and-shames these puppet-agents of the Devil:

Well done Rhoda!

Christians under attack in the Middle East
By Rhoda Kadalie
17 January 2012

Christians are under attack in the Middle East. Now Nigeria has also entered the fray with Islamic militants, Boko Haram, fanning the flames of ethno-religious conflict. Detonating bombs at church sites in Abuja, over the past Christmas holidays, killing and injuring hundreds of Christians, they are doing their damndest to create an Islamic state. In their mission, they continued with bomb and gun attacks at Christians in the North Eastern Yobe and Borno states recently.

In Egypt, 21 Coptic Christians died in a bomb blast as worshippers emerged from the New Year's Mass in Alexandria, Saturday Dec 31st. Although the Minister of the Interior blamed the blast on Al Qaeda, local citizens blamed Militant Muslim groups for inciting religious violence. With the Muslim Brotherhood firmly in control, Egypt's Arab Spring is set to become the Winter of Discontent for Christians and those yearning for a truly democratic state.

In a country of 80 million people, 90% Muslims and 8% Christians, the majority feels threatened by a few Christians who wish to worship freely. The newly elected Military Council and their military courts have allegedly convicted more civilians than were convicted under dictator, Hosni Mubarak, over the past 30 years.

Leader in the pack, Iran has set the precedent for persecuting Christians, having had extensive experience with the Bahai's and the Kurds. For some years the Iranian authorities have been arresting those suspected of evangelising and converting people from Islam to Christianity. Targeting religious holidays for maximum effect, both Egypt and Iran are escalating the conflict by terrorising bloggers, prohibiting the distribution of Bibles and the attendance of mass in Farsi. With only 1% of Iranians classified Christian, Iran is increasingly making their lives a living hell in the country of their birth driving many of them out. The ineffectual United Nations claims that about half of the Christian population has fled the country.

With the 2008 Bill that mandates "that all male apostates be put to death and all female apostates be imprisoned for life", the survival prospects of Christians is slim. Worse, Ayatollah Khamenei declared house churches a threat to Iran's national security and one of its governors called missionaries a "cultural invasion of the enemy."

Ditto Iraq. The numbers of Christians have declined from around 10% in the middle of the 20th century to 5% around 2000, to 3% (800 000) in 2008. Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians have fled to surrounding countries and the entire Jewish population has left. Tolerance of Christians is dwindling in a country where Christians have lived for more than 2000 years.

The terrorist bloodbath that killed 62 Christians and wounded 60 on October 2010 at the Our Lady of Deliverance Catholic Church in Baghdad was a continuation of the Jihadi's mission to "exterminate Iraqi Christians" described as an "obscene nest of the polytheists [infidels]".

The international human rights community is conspicuously silent about this genocide. Anything remotely smacking of criticism against Muslims propels the Obama administration, the European Union, the United Nations, the Global Elders, and the Left into action.

Not so with Christians and the question is why. This same group does not hesitate to single out Israel for condemnation and when one country is singled out for censure, as is routinely done then the only explanation can be anti-Semitism. Otherwise how do we explain the double standards?

When Syria's Bashar Al Asad declared war against his own citizens killing thousands, the Russell Tribunal gathered in Cape Town to judge whether or not Israel is an apartheid state. Just as Jimmy Kruger was left unmoved by Steve Biko's brutal death, so the atrocities in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, and Syria leave the world's human rights watchdogs cold and mute.

The tyrannical suppression of the freedom of expression, religion and association of Christians in Muslim countries has escaped their censure. This sanitised form of anti-Semitism feeds into the bipolar view of the "West against the Rest". Like Turkey, they will come to regret what they wished for. It no longer has any influence over its former ally, Syria as it butchers its civilians!

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